Topic: Blog

Our Engaged Classrooms approach for secondary schools offers three key pedagogical frameworks that support increases in equity and the academic success and achievement of every student. They are: Equity-Centered Classrooms, which emphasize culturally responsive and developmentally informed practices that affirm students’ multiple identities, their cultural experiences, and the range of their developmental needs and interests….

One of the essential questions at the heart of our Engaged Classrooms approach is “How do I foster and sustain strong and supportive personal relationships?” For adolescents, an emotional connection with adults is perhaps the single most important factor for fostering positive development, including higher levels of engagement, motivation, and academic performance. In addition, the…

Deborah Childs-Bowen was a member of the Engaging Schools board of directors for twelve years, serving as its chairperson for seven and a half of those years. She passed away after a long illness on Dec. 16, 2019. Engaging Schools’ Executive Director Larry Dieringer was honored to speak at Deborah’s memorial service: Deborah led the…

We at Engaging Schools were eager to see the final report from the Aspen Institute’s National Commission on Social, Emotional, and Academic Development. We wholeheartedly support all of its recommendations. While all are in our wheelhouse, we’d like to highlight one in particular: “Change instruction to teach students social, emotional, and cognitive skills; embed these…

Engaging Schools continues to support school districts across the country to reduce the use, overuse, and disproportional use of punishment and exclusion, and maximize supports and opportunities for all students. As part of this work, we are partnering with a growing number of school districts to revise (or create) their codes of conduct, which we…

We invite you to learn about embedding social and emotional learning (SEL) in high school classrooms through a free, 30-minute webinar which we presented in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals. Engaging Schools provides a rationale for integrating academic, social, and emotional learning and support in every classroom as the foundation of…

Facilitation Tips for Discussing Tough Topics with Students (Adapted from Engaging Schools’ The Advisory Guide, https://bit.ly/2CR4FiW) Tough topics arise. They may concern cliques, a drinking-and-driving incident, or national events like mass shootings. Students know what is happening and their concerns can easily show in their behavior or mood. Here are some facilitation tips for hard…

In the context of looking at existing beliefs that can lead to over-suspension, over-referral, and stubborn disproportionality in school discipline, we need to consider different kinds of bias, both implicit and explicit, which can get in the way of building an accountable, restorative school culture based on shared values. As Executive Director Larry Dieringer said…

A recent op-ed and a law professor’s rebuttal offer a glimpse into current tension around the US Department of Education’s position on schoolwide discipline. Background: In 2014 the US Department of Education (DoE) sent a “Dear Colleague” letter to all states and districts advising them that they were vulnerable to federal investigation if they did…

The Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center has released a new report, Realizing the Full Vision of School Discipline Reform: A Framework for Statewide Change, which documents how five states have reduced their reliance on suspensions while moving toward a more comprehensive vision of school discipline reform—one that ensures that efforts to limit disciplinary…

The following resources are once again relevant to recent events. The National Association of School Psychologists’ guidelines for helping students cope with terrorism and other kinds of mass violence provides support for adults in schools. Here is an excerpt: “Upper middle school and high school students will have strong and varying opinions about the causes…

Engaging schools is pleased to announce a new white paper, Embedding Social and Emotional Learning in High School Classrooms, to help districts and schools meet the challenges of implementing social and emotional learning (SEL) in high schools. Drawing on more than 20 years’ experience working with secondary school leaders and classroom teachers, we advocate that…

Thanks to the Massachusetts Teachers Association and others for collecting these resources to help adults in schools as they respond to hate and bigotry with their students and peers. “Seven ways that teachers can respond to the evil of Charlottesville, starting now” http://www.alternet.org/teachers-respond-charlottesville “The first thing teachers should do when school starts is talk about…

Our board of directors includes many educators with deep experience as practitioners and researchers. One is Jenny Nagaoka, who – along with John Gomperts of America’s Promise Alliance – recently published a commentary in Education Week citing ways to help more students finish high school. Jenny is the Deputy Director of the University of Chicago…

Since it was released last year, Shifting Gears: Recalibrating Schoolwide Discipline and Student Support has been an important, hands-on resource for hundreds of school and district leaders working on school climate, culture and discipline matters. Now Shifting Gears has received a positive review from the highly regarded Teachers College Record: “Shifting Gears is a text…

Engaging Schools has gathered the following resources that we hope will be helpful to you in supporting civil discourse, respect, and a positive environment for all students as you respond with them to the aftermath of the election, and as you facilitate discussions related to events as they unfold. We will provide additional resources as…

Engaging Schools joined over 300 other signatories in a Call to Action submitted on June 1 to the US Department of Education (DOE) advocating for practices that reach and teach the whole child. The DOE is supporting states in implementing the new federal Every Student Succeeds Act. The Call to Action emphasizes the importance of…

Engaging Schools’ Carol Miller Lieber and Michele Tissiere published “Recalibrating Climate, Culture, and Discipline“ in Principal Leadership, a publication of the National Association of Secondary School Principals. And Larry Dieringer participated in a roundtable discussion covered in a special section on school discipline and expulsion in the same issue.

Recently, Engaging Schools staff and board members gathered to celebrate Shelley Berman’s 32 years of continuous service to our organization, and his transition from active to emeritus member of our board of directors. He’s currently interim superintendent of schools in Andover MA. See Shelley’s website for some of his writings and other information about his…

Dan and Larry wrap up their conversation about developing equitable, supportive, and restorative systems of school discipline by discussing how districts can start making changes. They touch on leadership and teams, and touch on SEL and social context as well. See previous installments here. Larry: If a district wants to do something, what are some…

In this part of the conversation between Dan Losen and Larry Dieringer based on their shared focus on developing and sustaining equitable, supportive, and restorative systems of school discipline, they touch on policy, the role of police, and how data shines light on the problem and solutions. See previous installments here. Larry: What Federal and/or…

Here’s another installment of Dan and Larry’s discussion based on their shared focus on developing and sustaining equitable, supportive, and restorative systems of school discipline. They talk about challenges including the status quo, lack of professional development, teacher preparation, and structural racism and inequity. See previous installments here. Larry: What generally do you see as…

In this installment of Dan and Larry’s discussion based on their shared focus on developing and sustaining equitable, supportive, and restorative systems of school discipline, they cover remedies and approaches to the problem. See previous installments here. Larry: In your book, you talk about specific remedies that have begun to generate evidence of impact and success….

In this part of Dan and Larry’s discussion, they talk about the importance of understanding adolescent development and how fear and stereotyping can play into disproportionate discipline. See previous installments here. Larry: In our work we talk about both developmental and cultural competence. Among people who work with adolescents, there may be a lack of…

In this second part of their wide-ranging conversation, Larry and Dan talk about the importance of professional development, support, and cultural awareness in reducing suspensions, and some of the pitfalls that can take place when those are not present. Larry: We see a lot of districts revising their codes of conduct. One of the most…

Engaging Schools’ Executive Director Larry Dieringer sat down for a chat with Dr. Daniel Losen, Director of the Center for Civil Rights Remedies at The Civil Rights Project at UCLA. Dan is also the author and editor of influential studies and books about school discipline, most recently Closing the School Discipline Gap: Equitable Remedies for Excessive Exclusion. Larry…

Education Week reports that starting in 2017, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) will include measures of motivation, mindset, and other noncognitive factors. According to Education Week: The background survey will include five core areas—grit, desire for learning, school climate, technology use, and socioeconomic status—of which the first two focus on a student’s noncognitive skills, and the third looks…

Those who are in or who can get to the Boston area may want to register for the Social-Emotional Learning Alliance for Massachusetts (SAM) Fourth Annual Spring Conference, “Social-Emotional Learning: The Core of Academic Success and Safe, Resilient Communities.” This conference will take place on May 27, 2015, 9:30 am-4:30 pm, with a special pre-conference ceremony at…

This week, DoSomething has partnered with Dignity in Schools for a week of action to amplify the stories of inequitable, discriminatory, and inappropriate school discipline. Unfolding on the web and Twitter (follow the #Suspended4WHAT hashtag), this action shares stories gathered from students nationwide about how disciplinary actions with sometimes terrible consequences followed minor actions. Here’s today’s…

We are expanding our professional services capacity to add an experienced professional to our staff to help us provide responsive, high quality services. The Director of Professional Services will direct Engaging Schools’ professional services operations as part of a two-person leadership team. The Director of Professional Services will manage relationships with high priority clients, manage our consultants, represent us at…

On Tuesday, March 3, Engaging Schools Executive Director Larry Dieringer played a key role in “From the Police Precinct to the Principal’s Office: The Challenges Facing School Districts One Year After the Release of Federal School Discipline Guidance,” a Congressional briefing that explored changes underway and challenges remaining more than a year after the U.S. Departments…

“You Can’t Fix What You Don’t Look At: Acknowledging Race in Addressing Racial Discipline Disparities,” by Prudence Carter, Russell Skiba, Mariella Arredondo, and Mica Pollock, is the fifth in a series of briefing papers published by the Discipline Disparities Research-to-Practice Collaborative. Based at Indiana University and supported by The Atlantic Philanthropies and Open Society Foundation,…

Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh, a member of our national advisory board since soon after our founding, passed away on February 26 at age 97. President of the University of Notre Dame from 1952 to 1987, Rev. Hesburgh was one of the nation’s most influential figures in education, civil rights, and other national and international affairs. Father Ted was…

We’re pleased to share the latest Engaging Schools annual report, created for and shared with our donors in print form earlier this year. We’re making it more widely available as a useful overview of our recent work. This annual report contains news about our organization’s name change, our collaboration in Syracuse, NY with district and community…

For many of you hard at work in and on behalf of schools, this is a crazy, joyous, exhausting, and wonderful time of year. We wish you the best for a hard-earned break, and hope that you and your students enjoy peace, safety, and security during the coming days and weeks. In order for Engaging…

Earlier this month, Engaging Schools staff members debuted our new name and look at Learning Forward‘s annual conference. Director of Sales and Marketing Denise Wolk shared products and services in the exhibition hall, and also collaborated with Director of Professional Services Michele Tissiere to present “Creating the Engaged Classroom in Secondary Schools.” Conference-goer Liz Smith, pictured left, won a…

We recommend that educators spend time watching, reading, and thinking about “Core Elements of Teaching Practice in Student-Centered Learning.” In this project, produced in collaboration with Jobs for the Future and the Nellie Mae Education Foundation’s “Students at the Center” initiative, Kathleen Cushman and Barbara Cervone of What Kids Can Do documented practices in six high…

The November 2014 issue of Kappan features “Social-emotional skills can boost Common Core implementation,” in which Rutgers psychology professor Maurice Elias argues that social-emotional learning (SEL) skills and related learning are critical yet thus far ignored components of Common Core success. Writing that “the same skills being neglected in the implementation of the Common Core…

Based on the premise that positive relationships between middle and high school students and their teachers can lead to better educational outcomes, “Creating birds of similar feathers: Leveraging similarity to improve teacher-student relationships and academic achievement,” by Hunter Gehlbach, Maureen E. Brinkworth, Aaron King, Laura Hsu, Joe McIntyre, and Todd Rogers, focuses on a simple intervention…

To conclude our focus on Countering Bullying and Harassment: Skill-Based Lessons to Move from Bystander to Ally, in conjunction with National Bullying Prevention Month, we’re sharing thoughts from an interview with author and Engaging Schools professional services consultant Jane Harrison. Jane has over 40 years of experience in education as a teacher, mentor, adjunct university…

In our ongoing series in conjunction with National Bullying Prevention Month, we’ll consider recommendations that will help educators and school leaders to determine whether their classroom or school’s conditions will properly support a program that helps students identify, resist, and address various forms of bullying and harassment. While these recommendations were developed for and adapted from Countering Bullying and…

In conjunction with October’s status as National Bullying Prevention Month, we’re sharing a look inside our related publication, Countering Bullying and Harassment: Skill-Based Lessons to Move from Bystander to Ally. Engaging Schools published this curriculum, focused on grades 6-10, in 2013. Author Jane Harrison, who is also an Engaging Schools professional services consultant, brought her…

A recent WRVO public radio news report, “Syracuse school district has new discipline guidelines” shares news about the progress that the Syracuse, New York public schools have made toward creating more restorative, less punitive disciplinary measures. In collaboration with Engaging Schools’ Schoolwide Discipline and Student Support program, the district convened a 50-member task force that…

With support from the Nellie Mae Education Foundation and the Schott Foundation for Public Education, we’re delighted to share our new research paper, “Conditions and Considerations for Effective Development and Implementation of Personal Opportunity Plans by the Commonwealth, Districts, and Schools,” by Engaging Schools senior consultant Carol Miller Lieber. “Personal Opportunity Plans” contributes to the…

We are Engaging Schools—but what’s an engaging school? In our vision of an engaging school, staff members and everyone in the school community hold a collective belief that all students have wonder, are curious and interested, and have the capacity to become deeply engaged learners. In engaging schools, teaching and learning improve. Teachers use a…

Welcome to Engaging Schools, formerly known as Educators for Social Responsibility. We’re delighted to show you the result of nearly two years of planning and creation. Why did we change our name? During the past several years, we came to understand that our name, Educators for Social Responsibility, confused people. Some people thought we were…